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Protect the consumer. Stop the schemes and ripoffs. Make law work for the little guy. All easier said than done.

Memoirs and case studies of fraud schemes and consumer protection from an insider who helped to found New York City’s first consumer watchdog agency, Counsel for the Deceived is a funny, candid account of fraud and institutional paralysis written by a then-newby lawyer, the city’s Consumer Advocate. Philip Schrag was appointed by former Miss America Bess Myerson to defend consumer rights. In six case histories, he documents the schemes of the “commercial underworld” and the inability of courts and government agencies to respond in time.

This 40th anniversary edition of a classic book adds thoughtful new material: a foreword by Marc Galanter (University of Wisconsin) and a preface by the author. The book features the original introduction by Ralph Nader.

Links to all sorts of places to get it (ebooks or new paperback) are collected here. Its general Amazon link is here.